Wife allowed to visit leader of charity with alleged terrorism ties

February 05, 2002|By Amy E. Nevala, Tribune staff reporter.

The wife of a man jailed for alleged visa violations and suspected of operating a charity that funded terrorist activities called for his release Monday and accused authorities of unfairly restricting his family's visitation rights.

Except for a 15-minute phone conversation last week, Salma Al-Rushaid said efforts to visit her husband, Rabih Haddad, have been slowed by security checks and paperwork since Jan. 8.

"I didn't even know I would be able to see him today until moments before they let me in. They are making it difficult for me," said Al-Rushaid, 36, who last saw her husband in Monroe County Jail in Michigan on Jan. 8, less than a week before he was transferred to Chicago.

Al-Rushaid called for her husband's release at a news conference before the visit. Haddad, 41, has been in custody since his arrest for a visa violation Dec. 14, the same day federal agents closed the Bridgeview office of the Global Relief Foundation, suspecting the charity of funding terrorist activities.

Charity officials deny the allegation, and the organization remains under investigation.

Officials at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago declined to comment on Al-Rushaid's complaints.

Al-Rushaid and the couple's four children, ages 3 to 12, were joined by a dozen activists outside the correction center Monday before the family was allowed in for a supervised 21/2-hour visit. Al-Rushaid said she plans to visit Haddad again on Friday.

A previous attempt to visit Haddad was denied because Al-Rushaid did not have the proper paperwork, said Ashraf Nubani, Haddad's Springfield, Va.-based attorney.

Haddad is expected to testify before a grand jury but no date has been set, Nubani said.

Al-Rushaid said that during their visit Monday they talked about their health, the children's school work and the community support for Haddad.

"He told me to keep big spirits, to be strong and have faith, that justice would prevail," said Al-Rushaid.

She added that she felt that her husband was receiving proper care.

Haddad, a native of Lebanon and co-founder of the Global Relief Foundation, has had three hearings, all closed to the public, in an immigration court in Detroit. The government also is trying to deport Al-Rushaid and three of their four children, Nubani said.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service says that Al-Rushaid, like her husband, has overstayed a tourist visa.